


The Army and the Calvary

by Boyswhofellout



Category: Fall Out Boy, YBC, Young Blood Chronicles - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Semi-graphic, Short Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-08 02:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1923459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boyswhofellout/pseuds/Boyswhofellout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long time friend to Joe, Naomi, has been with the band since it started as a support and later the official tuner to Joe and sometimes Patrick. She's sworn her oath to the band and would fight and/or die for it. When the four members are taken, along with her, by crazy girls and tortured, her oath is pushed to the limit. Would she really actually, physically die for the band and it's members? Can she handle all the things Courtney Love's Army puts her through? Who is she willing to lose to survive and even more importantly: Can she survive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mighty Fall Far from Grace

**Author's Note:**

> A/N  
> I realize that this series is finished and everyone reading this (I'm assuming) knows what happens. Not everything in this story will be exactly accurate, keep in mind I'm throwing in a made up character and sculpting this story around the story I made for her (Naomi). Proceed and know that this is going to be pretty much the same with changes made to fit my character.
> 
> Basic need-to-know stuff:  
> While the events happening the YBC are taking place, they're famous and people know them as the band they are. This is basically going on in "real life" I guess you could say.  
> I'm going to slip in small backstory things about Naomi so you can get a feel for her.  
> Naomi has been with the band since before Evening Out with Your Girlfriend. She came on as a merch girl in the beginning and is now a tuner for Joe and sometimes Patrick.

I woke up in a dark room.  _What the hell? Where am I?_ Is all that ran through my mind as I observed the area. I realized, as I went to lift my arms, that they were tied behind my back. I sat on a wooden chair and the knots were  ** _tight_** **.**  As my eyes adjusted, I saw two girls standing before me, both their arms folded.

"This one just wandered into the room, had to grab her." one of them was saying, that's when I realized that it was extra dark because a black sack was placed over my head. "Didn't even get a good look at her. What do we do with her?" the same voice asked. I saw the other girl turn to the girl who had spoken and speak softly; I still heard.

"She's not part of the plan. Get rid of her." then heels clicking and a door shutting. The first girl to speak now stood in the room with me. I couldn't see clearly, but she looked conflicted. She circled the chair I sat in and stopped behind me; she had something sharp in her hand. I gulped but accepted the only outcome of this situation. I prayed that Joe and the others were okay, but stopped when I heard a quick slice and felt my arms drop to my side. In a flash, I was on my feet being pulled by the girl. I tried to remember the way we were going, how many left and right turns we made, but my head was spinning and I lost count at three left turns and four right ones. Suddenly, after who knows how many turns, I was struck with a blinding light, then I was being pushed into something and the door slammed. After a moment of heavy breathing, I caught it when I heard another door slam and the engine roaring to life in the quiet day. The girl ( I assume it was her ) slams on the gas and the tires squeal under the vehicle. Once again, I try and fail to count the turns. Maybe I could retrace them, but it would be difficult and would take time. As I lose myself in thought, I am slammed to the floor of the vehicle from the jolt of the sudden stop that was just made. More door slamming, more pulling, more tire screeching on the road and I'm alone. I take off the sack after I no longer hear the vehicle. As I take it off, I catch a glimpse of a black van, but no more than that. I look around again, still confused as to where I am. I'm in the middle of a road, literally. I look down at the faded yellow line and then up into the blue sky. 

"Fuck!" I exclaim. I'm lost with no phone and no idea where I am or even was for that matter. I contemplate retracing the route the van took, but decide against it when I realize the sun is in the west, not the east. It's probably around 4:00pm, but luckily it's summer so it'll still be light out for about three and a half hours, maybe four. I get up and head in the opposite direction of the van and hope that I'll find something for the night. God, I'm hungry.... As I walk around, I try to think back to what happen and things start to piece together what went on in the last few days. I was at the gas station with Joe, I went in to pay and walked out to find a girl dragging Joe away. Before I could react, there was a rag to my face and I was out. Then I wake up in that room. They took Joe, they have him. I decide to got back there tomorrow, maybe find a vehicle and drive over there. If I can find it anyway... I almost miss the large building in front of my eyes as I think all these through.

I snap out of thought and walk towards it; it looks abandoned. I find a sign that reads Linda Vista Community Hospital and limp inside; I'm so tired. The door is open, taken off the hinges actually. I step inside with caution and pick up a fallen piece of something, I'm not sure what it is but it's sharp. I glance around and notice a symbol on the wall, a music note that's crossed through. Guess the hospital had something against music. I shrug it off and go behind the desk, hoping for a phone or maybe computer. No such luck. The outlet where a phone would go it torn out and smashed on the floor.  _Great, just my luck._ I think and walked away. As I maneuver around objects, I shiver with the thought of this place up and running, the ghosts of patients walking beside me. I try every door I see, but none are open until I come to a room that looks like a regular room that help recovering people. The room is a disaster, but all the objects that usually go in it are there. The bed is overturned and looks very heavy so I don't even entertain the thought of flipping it. I walk out, feeling less hopeful but not defeated. I finish the first hall and head to the next around the corner and almost run into a fallen gurney. I hate hospitals, I always have since 2005. After Pete was in one, my mom ending up in a hospital and died in one. I hate hospitals. I walk down the hall and try more doors and find more rooms, some with a bed turned the right way, some completely destroyed, but mostly locked. I come across the hall that must have been the operation hall with a single black chair in the middle of a room. It reminds me more of a dentist room. Not to my surprise, most doors are locked to these rooms except one. As I'm backing out of the room, I run into a wheelchair that's in the middle of the hall. I leave it there. I trace my steps back to a room that had a bed turned upright that was at the end of a hallway. It looked secluded, not as destroyed. Things were still out of place, but not as badly, that's for sure. I crawl into the bed and pulled the sheet that's thrown to the foot of the bed and curl up, hoping tomorrow I find the guys. God only knows whats happening to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this is rather short, I just wanted to establish where Naomi is physically and mentally. More in the next chapter.


	2. Just Yesterday We Were Fine / The Party is Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Patrick's P.O.V. until stated otherwise.  
> I realized that if I tried to do each music video separately that each chapter would be very short so if there's a slash, it's more than one video in one.

Screaming. There was screaming all around me. I was caked in dirt and sweat, and even worse, blood. _Why did it have to be blood?_ Against my happiness, I ran on and left the blood where it was. The four of us were being chased by kids. Fucking kids. Granted, they all had dangerous objects so that made them scarier, but kids nonetheless. _Who the hell were the chicks that grabbed me?_ Grabbed us, I should say. And my hand. _My hand is gone! I'll never be able to play guitar again!_ The thought made me slow down as a sadness filled up inside me. I heard rustling and ran again, fumbling on my feet and I ran over tree roots and fallen branches. As I'm running along I can feel the branches on the trees scratching at my arms and even neck, until it stops. I look around and observe a clearing but trip and fall on the uneven ground. The kid is getting close, I see him as I turn to get up. He's holding a boombox, which confuses me but have no time to question; I just keep running. Suddenly, I heard it. That sound. Music. I stop in my tracks and feel the rage build in me. I black out.

There's a guy standing in front of me. The kid lies dead on the ground. I don't question, I run. I send him a nod in thanks and sprint off in the direction I saw running before. Later, there's a male scream. Someone is dead. After a while of tiresome running, I slouch over and breath deeply and listen. The only sound around is my heavy breath and animals running around in the night cover. I fall to the ground in an exhausted heap and just breath. I think back to past 24 hours and replay it all. The guy were there, I wonder where they are. I wonder if it was one of them that screamed... God, I hope not. I think about the guy that saved me and wonder who he is. My mind wanders to Naomi, who was with Joe that day. I think about where she could be, or maybe if she's one of the girls who took us. The thought worries me, even though it's very unrealistic. I drag my hand down my face as a sort of way to clear my mind and think straight but I can't.  _I'm tired. When's the last time I slept?_ I find myself laying back, then drifting to sleep easily.

I wake up with a start. I sit up and look around, remembering everything in a wave of events. I get up slowly and start to walk, hoping to find a cabin or a road even. Memories fill my head again as I come to a slope and finally find a road. The surrounding area is virtually abandoned, looks like it hasn't been tended to or cleaned in a while. Maybe it's just the morning light and feeling. A pang goes through my arm and I sigh. My hands still missing. I was hoping that was a hallucination, no such luck.  _Damn._ I try to wave down the few cars that pass, but each speed up at the sight of me. I don't blame them, honestly. I'd speed up too if it were me in the car and someone looking like me flagged them down. Finally, a red truck stops and a girl throws open the door. She's cute, brown hair and a hat, but there has to be something wrong with her. She's letting a stranger covered in blood, dirt, and sweat and a hook for a hand get in her truck. I move past it and gladly get in. She pressed the gas petal and the wind that sweeps through the cab of the truck feels good on my face. She stares at me when she thinks I'm not looking and I stare back when I know she is. She gives me a look that blatantly reads 'Stay far on that side.' and I do. As I'm looking out my open window, I feel the truck move drastically and look over to see that she let go of the wheel! I grab it in a panic and steer us and the large hunk of metal back to the correct side of the road. I throw her looks as she hangs out the window carelessly and scoot over to get a better grip on the wheel. She basically climbs out the window and waves her hat around as I drive us down the road. She pulls herself back into the car and looks at me like I'm crazy again. I scoot back over and make a mental note to just walk next time.

We drive along and I notice a bobbing head. As we get closed I can make out that it's someone I know. I point the the figure and the girl stops. Andy climbs into the bed of the truck and I lean out the window and grab his forearm. Thank god he was alive. A mile or two later we find Joe and he crawls in next to Andy. God, I hope Pete's okay... That thought keeps running through my head until I head Andy and Joe yelling to stop. Pete climbs in the back and hugs the guys. We're all here. I look back and notice Joe still looks nervous; None of us speak.

"Naomi. Did any of you see her?" Joe asks finally. I heard him over the roar of the wind. I look back at him, eyes wide.

"Was she taken with you?" I ask. He nods slowly.

"We were getting gas, she walked out and on of the girls there grabbed her. We were in their vehicle together, I could feel her next to me when I woke up. She was still out. I didn't see her wake up before they dragged us inside." he explained , stumbling over his own words. They had Naomi. Who knows if she's even still alive. 

Pete patted Joe's arm in comfort. "We'll find her man." he said. I nodded, mostly to myself as a new mission. Get better. Find Naomi. My thought was interrupted by the stop of the truck. We sat outside an old looking hospital that read Linda Vista Community Hospital. Thank god. The driver looked over at me slowly and I turned to her. Before I can process, she switches on the radio. Fuck.I feel the rage build up again. I black out.

***Naomi's P.O.V.***

I'm awake and walking around the hospital in a sleepy haze. I hear a thump and turn my head in the direction of the sound.  _Was that a car door?_ I think as I walk toward the front. I hear quick footstep and quicken my pace in the direction. I'm running now, but duck down when I hear running footsteps coming my way. I peek my head up and see three guys running. I get up and walk towards them and realize it's the guys. Andy in the lead, followed by Joe, then Pete. Joe's face lights up but it's cut short as Andy grabs my arm and pulls me along with him. 

"What the hell is going on?" I ask as we run. Andy's face is blank, focused. I know I'll get an explanation when he thinks it's the right time. I glance behind at Joe and Pete and see that they're caked in blood and dirt. They both look worried, scared even.  _One, two, three..._ I count in my head.

"Where's Patrick?" I ask. Andy shakes his head and keeps running. More questions to answer later. God, where is he? I hear a yell that sounds more like a roar and almost stop in my tracks. 

"Keep running! Don't stop!" Joe yells as Andy pulls me again. We're on the other side of the hospital now, farthest from the entrance. 

"Split up!" Pete yells and is gone. Joe looks to me and nods to me; I stay with Andy as he runs off in the opposite direction that Pete went down hall ways leading who knows where. Andy is jiggling door handles desperately before I stop him.

"They're mostly locked. I've been down this way already." I say. He nods and we run to an area that I haven't been to. We each take a side of the hallway and try doors until Andy pulls me into one that wasn't locked. It's a supply closet stocked with medical things.

"Perfect." he says and sits down. I close the door and sit against it. I'm tiny, but it'll stop whatever is after us for a few seconds.

"What the hell is going on?" I ask finally.

"Give me a second." he says and catches his breath. I spot a bottle of peroxide and throw it to him, he needs it. He nods to me and pours in over his wound while clamping his mouth shut. It hurts badly, Andy almost screams. I grab his hand and let him squeeze it; I've never had a broken hand, but I imagine it feels similar to him squeezing it. The pain dies down and I patch him up while he breathes deeply. 

"There, done." I say and sit against the door again; Andy moves to sit next to me. "What's out there?" I ask him. He looks over to me and sighs.

"It's not a what, it's a who." he says slowly.

"Okay, who's out there?" I ask.

"Patrick." he says. He doesn't explain.

I almost laugh, "We're running and hiding from Patrick?" I said, trying to control myself. "What's the worst he could do?" I ask, a small smile on my lips. I glance over to Andy who looks at me in sympathy. 

"You'll see." he says and goes quiet. Footsteps. I prepare myself to get up to look who it, but I'm stopped by Andy. I listen more closely and heard banging and yelling. The footsteps shuffle past the door and are gone. I get up and open to door slowly to an empty hallway. I walk out of the room with Andy close behind to the sound of the banging. More loud banging and we're running and find ourselves behind Pete. He throws open to door where the banging is coming from and disappears into the room, Andy and I close behind. I stop in my tracks. Patrick stands in the room, eyes bright yellow. Joe lies on the chair that I found yesterday. He isn't moving.

"Joe?" I ask and move towards him. Pete throws his arm out to stop me and looks at Patrick. "Pete, let me go." I protest. Pete lowers his arm as the yellow fades from Patrick's eyes. I stumble over to Joe and check for a pulse. I find none. "Joe?" I choke out. I feel weak and I crumple to my knees. Pete's by Patrick, Andy wraps an arm around my shoulders and holds me as I rack with sobs.

"Naomi." Patrick says and walks over to me. He crouches down and looks at me, tears streaming down his face. 

"What were you doing in here? What the hell is going on. Why is my best friend dead?" I stammer out. I look around to all of them, waiting for an explanation. No one speaks. "Someone better start explaining." I say through my teeth.

"These girls took us, tortured us. Turned Patrick into.... God knows what." Pete says. "How did you get here?" he asks me. 

"The girls had me too, let me go. They said I wasn't part of the plan, that they better get rid of me before the boss finds out they took me. I walked here, slept here." I say as I calm down a bit. I look at Patrick. "What are you?" I ask and I slid back into Andy more.

He looks up at me and shakes his head, "I don't know." 

"None of us do. What we do know is music triggers something inside him and he goes on a killing spree for us. We don't know why or how they did this, but they did." Andy explains in a low voice.

"Killing spree? You mean you did this?" I ask him and point up to Joe. He lets his head fall in shame. "You killed Joe?" I ask him, my voice cracking around Joe's name.

"He can't control the actions he does. It's like brainwash that only kicks in when music plays." Pete explains. I know I shouldn't hate Patrick right now, it's not his fault. But.... Joe is dead. Joe is dead and he died by Patrick's hand. I scoot farther away from Patrick and practically into Andy's lap. My face gets hot and tears fall from my eyes again as I look up at Joe, still and....dead. Andy squeezes my shoulders and I feel a drop fall to the top of my head. I look around and Pete is crying as well and Patrick. I crawl out of Andy's arms and pull myself up to look at Joe. His eyes are wide , his fro even crazier than it usually is. I put my hands in the edge of the chair to support myself and let my head fall again. My sobs fill the room and I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look over to see Patrick and I know I can't stay mad at him. I throw myself into his arms and cry into his shirt. I silence myself as my ears perk up to sounds in the distance. Sirens.

"I called 911. I probably sounded crazy but sent people anyway." he says and looks out the window.

"How do we explain our situation to police? I highly doubt they're believe that we were kidnapped, tortured, and turned into a killing machine when music plays. I also doubt they're let a dead body slid because 'he can't control the actions he does'." I said to them. I quote Pete about Patrick and feel him flinch at the harshness in my voice.

"I don't know, but we'll have to figure it out because they're here." Pete says and turns to me. My eyes are puffy and red, his are red too. I pull myself out of Patrick's arms to try and regain myself. They all look like they've been through hell and I imagine I do too; they look worse than me though, that I know. I hear yelling and footsteps as the cops enter the building. We all inhale a breath together and I glance over to Joe again. I feel tears coming again and can't suppress them. Patrick laces him arm around my waist to support me and I lightly rack with sobs again. The police finally find the room we're in and they take one look at Patrick and assume he's the guy to cuff. He lets them and Pete holds me back as I try to protest. They take the rest of out out behind Patrick and try to ask us questions; None of us speak. Pete, Andy, and I get into the same cop car while Patrick is shoved into a separate car.

"Someone's going to have to talk soon." a cop sitting in the passenger's seat says. We say nothing. They take Patrick in first when we arrive to the station, then us. I don't see Patrick when we enter the station, but I hear agonizing screams that sound like Patrick. The driver of our car pushes us into an interrogation room and slams the door, leaving us alone.

"What the hell do we do?" I ask the guys. I see them both shrug out of the corners of my eyes. We sit in silence, the quiet getting violent. We sit there and think off the the lies we could tell, or how the truth would sound, or what Patrick is going through, or why the hell those girls took us and did this. We think and think until the room is filled with silent noise, silent screams of our minds. White noise fills the room, low and ringing. Hours must've past before the cop came in.

"So you're friend is looking at a lot of time. Somebody wanna explain what the hell happened and what the four of you were doing at a closed down, no trespassing, hospital?" the man asks. He's wearing a blue shirt that looks bright against his dark skin. He's bald and looks like he just got stopped as he was ready to walk out the door and head home.

"Five. There were five of us." I say numbly.

"Well according to the coroner, the fifth guy is dead. He was choked to death. So, we only have you four to deal with." he said coldly. My face began to burn in anger and sadness and I feel Pete's arm around me, pulling me toward him. I suppress my sobs and pull out of his hold. It's hard. "Start explaining." he demands. I look at Andy and then to Pete and they both start talking at once. I stay silent and listen to their story, trying to catch up on what happened while I wasn't with them. The interrogator stops them at some points and repeats what they just said in disbelief, then lets them continue. I can tell he's buying none of it. After they finish and catch up to right now, the guy looks angry and his jaw is clenched tight. "You expect me to believe all of the bullshit that just came out of your mouths?" he asks, anger ringing out in the small room.

"Well, we expect you to believe the truth and that was the truth." Andy spits out, clearly annoyed with the cop. The cop is equally annoyed and begins to yell about his disbelief and then adds his personal problems and how they tie in with the case and how he can't believe he just sat here for an hour and listed to utter nonsense. He hits at the chair that he never sat on and storms out of the room angrily.

"That went well." I say sarcastically. We sit there in more silence that is interrupted by the slight swoosh of paper that slides under the door. Pete picks it up and it reads: 'I wear the crown but I'm no princess' with the symbol of the band next to it. Pete flips the card over and reads aloud: "1515 Broadway #508 Death Valley, CA." We look at each other in question, but we all silently agree that we'll go there after we get out of here. Finally, they let us go and we head to the address on the card.

 


	3. Alive in Death Valley (Somehow)

"I don't like this feeling that I have." I say as we pull up to the building containing the room we're suppose to go to.

We find the room and knock twice, answered by a feminine "Come in." We enter slowly and find a room mostly empty with a girl standing in it facing a wall filled with pictures and string and papers. The girl turns to us and rips off an arm band with the symbol I saw in the hospital off her arm. She throws it to the ground and doesn't left time for questions. We starts talking and pointing and then we're watching recorded footage of whatever is going on with the girls that took us. She points to certain things or people and talks about them and explains who they are and what they are. She tells us we have to go in there and do this and that and continues without stopping.

"Alright hold up." I interupt finally. "Who the hell are you and why should we even trust you?" I ask the obvious question. She stops like she's been slapped in the face and stares at me. 

"The better question is who the hell are you?" She asks.

"She's our friend and she asked a good question." Pete snaps.

"I'm a friend who wants to help. Can we get back to this now?" she asks, obviously annoyed.

"Friends would require actually knowing you beforehand. And a name. That would be nice." I snap. "In the past 24 hours we have all been captured, tortured, set free to be chased by crazy kids, chased by our own best friend, yelled at by a cop who had no idea what really happened, lost a great fucking friend, and then yelled at by another person who we don't even know. A little explanation here and there would not kill anybody!" I yell at to her. In her heels, she's taller than me but I can't be bothered with that. I'm on so many levels of annoyed that I could fight Andy and win.

"Naomi's right." Andy defends. "We need explanations and we need them now." he demands.

"Look, all I know is there's a whole army of girls under the command of a head girl and they're against all things music. They smash instruments and records and anything music related. Why they came after you isn't exactly clear, there are so many other bands out there to attack. They picked you and might pick another band after she's done with you guys. We have to stop them." she said simply.

"Right, so we're just going to march in there and 'stop them'? Sounds like a great plan.... for suicide." I say still annoyed.

"How else do you expect to stop them?" the unnamed girl asks stepping closer to me.

"Not guns blazing. If there are as many girls as you say it won't matter how many weapons we have; They'll overpower us anyway." I say. She takes a step back and lowers her head a bit. She knows I'm right.

"She's right. We need a better plan." Pete says, his face twisted in thought.

"What other plan could work?" the girl asks.

"More undercover work. It'll take longer, but it's the only other way to make sure we can get in, glab the case, and get out with minimal damage." I say.

"Alright, she's already in with the other girls. Should be easy." Andy says and shrugs. The blonde nods once.

"No, I want to get a feel for the place before we take it. I can describe it to you and how the layout works." I say quickly before the protests come.

"Absolutely not." Pete says.

"No, she's right. It's a good idea, no matter how much you don't like it." the blonde says thinking the possibilities through. "We'll have to adjust you a bit, you'll stick out like a sore thumb like that. Come on." she says at walks out as I follow behind her. Pete and Andy stare after me in shock and I give them a weak smile.

******LATER******

I walked out of the room behind Kara, who wasn't actually as bad as I thought. This blonde chick was someone you didn't want to mess with, and I respected that. I was the same height as her now as I sported new heels that weren't comfortable at all. Neither were the leggings (they didn't feel right) or the crop top (I felt too exposed) and the pony tail didn't feel right either. None of this felt right, but if it meant avenging Joe and getting Patrick back, I'd do whatever it took, no matter how uncomfortable. 

"Wow." Pete said shortly, mouth slightly open. Andy turned from the covered wall and copied Pete.

"Not bad, I know." Kara said smugly.

"You look great, but so uncomfortable." Pete commented.

I laughed once and nodded, "I hate heels, but it's for a good cause." I say.

"Alright, tomorrow I'll take you in with me and vouch for you and get you in the system. The only way they let people in is if other members that are already in can defend them." she explains.

"How did you get in then?" Andy asks walking up next to me. He and Pete and rather short next to me now, which makes me smile. I'm always shorted than them, it's a nice change. Then the thought of Patrick floods my mind and the smile is gone quicker than it came.

"Are you sure you won't be noticed, recognized." Pete asks.

I nod, "The girls that snatched me kept saying she didn't even see my face. Neither of them did." I say reassuringly. Unfortunately, he doesn't look reassured but nods nonetheless.

"You guys must be hungry, lets eat." Kara says and walks out of the room. I start to follow but I'm stopped by Pete's hand finding mine. He looks up to me, then down at my shoes and I bend over and take them off.

"You better be more than careful when you go in there. I swear, if something happens to you in there...." Pete says and trails off. "I'd never forgive myself for letting you go in there if you don't come back out." he finishes.

I smile slightly and put my hand to his stubbly face. "You worry too much Pete." I say.

"I've always treated you like a little sister and that's what you are to me. I feel responsible for you, so does Andy. You're the little sister of the band. You always have been." he says as he looks down to me. I lace my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. 

"Thank you for taking me into your little family." I whisper into his ear. I feel him nod as he hugs me tightly like it's the last time he's going to hug me. Maybe it is.

"Joe would hate this idea you know." he says in a low voice.

I sigh, "I know."

"He'd be proud that you're willing to do this though, to risk your life to stop these girls. Even though you're risking your life..." Pete said and laughed weakly.

"Hey, you guys coming?" Andy asks as he ducts his head in. He walks into the room as Pete lets me go; I'm pulled to Andy. I realize this is sort of like their goodbye and good luck moment. 

"I love you guys, you know that right?" I ask into Andy's shoulder. I look over to Pete who nods. I've know him the second longest, right after Joe.

"Love you kid." Andy says into my shoulder. He was the only one I ever let call me kid. He was only five years older than me at 34, but he always felt like my older brother. Pete was the annoying best friend who had the strangely funny sense of humor. Patrick was the shy guy who was considered a friend, but talked the least. Then there was Joe, who was my best friend and basically a brother. We spent most of middle school and all of high school together. There wasn't a day that we didn't talk since the day we met.

"Don't cry kiddo, you'll mess up your fierce makeup." Andy says as a tear falls onto his shoulder. I laugh and wipe my face, then pull away.

"Let's eat." I say and head for the door, Pete and Andy following in my tracks.

"There you guys are. Thought you got lost." Kara says as we enter the small kitchen. She has plates in front of her with rice and chicken on each.

"Wow." I say and take a plate.

"What were you expecting?" Kara asks and sits down at the small table. 

I shrug, "Not an actual meal."

"Just because I'm secretly a spy at a base that's trying to destroy music, doesn't mean I can't have a nice meal when it comes time for dinner" she says and smiles. I nod and dig in hungrily, I can't remember the last time I ate. We eat in silence, minds wandering. They still have Patrick, the police do. The thought made me nervous, but reassures me. In jail, the girls can't get to him. After we finish, I change back into my normal clothes to sleep in and crawl into the pull out couch Kara has. I'm in between Pete and Andy and I feel better knowing they're next to me. We start off laying in our own little bubble, but I remember that Joe could be here and I end up crying into Andy's chest while Pete hugs me from behind. Eventually, Pete rolls away from me and faces the other way. I hear sniffles and turn to him.

"This shit is so fucked up." Pete complains in a hoarse voice. We're facing eachother, Pete's head ducked down below mine to complete his ball-like position. I absently play with his hair and let him go, his emotions showing more than they have in a long time. I'm pretty sure Andy is asleep, I hear light snoring behind me. I want to drift off too, but I keep myself up until Pete calms down. At first, Pete was that guy who thought everyone wanted him since he was starting a band and thought he was so cool. He always hit on me, though it was playful most of the time. I was always there to make sure to take him down a few pegs if his ego got too big again, to shoot his offers of sex down. We kept that up, though he stopped hitting on after marrying Ashlee. He picked it up again after the divorce, but the moments were rare now. He slowly faded from doing it completely and I sort of became an anchor for him, someone who could be real with him 24/7. Most of the guys were anyway, but they sometimes still think he's too fragile and can't take the heat. I've also told him exactly how things were and he appreciated it. He turned out of the ball that he was laying in and pulled me unto his chest. His now steady breathing was soothing and soon I was fast asleep, thoughts of tomorrow nonexistent.

******THE NEXT MORNING******

"Hey, up. We gotta go soon." I hear. I'm shaken awake and see Kara is standing next to the bed in her outfit for the day. I breathe in deeply and feel myself deflate as I realize yesterday really happened and nothing about yesterday was fake. I sighed and got up to find that Andy was already up and Pete was awake but hadn't moved so he didn't wake me. I slid out of bed and to the bathroom that already held my clothes. "No hot water!" I hear Kara yell and decide against a shower right now. I change and walk out feeling taller and more powerful than I usually do. The feeling is weird and I'm slightly uncomfortable with my confidence but shrug it off; I look amazing, why shouldn't I feel it too?

"You still look great. Feel better now that you're used to it from yesterday?" Pete asks as he wipes the sleep from his eyes. I smile and nod slightly, but he knows I'm lying, of course he does.

"Eat something, then we'll go." Kara says and walks away. I nod and walk with her to get food. After I eat we're standing in the doorway to leave the building. I kick off my shoes again so I can hug the guys properly. 

"Be safe." Pete says and squeezes tighter before letting go.

"You better come back kid." Andy threatens and pulls me into a tight hug. He kisses the side of my head, then lets go. His eyes are glossy, but no tears fall.

"I'll be fine guys. See you later." I assure them, attempting to assure myself as well. There's a large chance that someone will recognize me and kill me on the spot, but I don't tell them that obviously. I follow Kara into her car and sit in anticipation .

"You're going to be fine, just act like you know what you're doing and they'll believe you. Honestly, just act like you've been there for years and own the damn place and you'll fit right in." she advises as we pull into a parking lot. "We have to walk from here. Too many cars in one place would look suspicious." he continues and shuts the car off. We get out and I hold my head high, or try to, and walk with her to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. She knocks twice and then one more time and the door slides open.

"New recruit, huh Chem?" the girl says.

"This is Electra." Kara lies. "She's interested in our work."

"Welcome. Tell me, why are you interested?" the girl asks. Shit.

"Music is corrupt and glorifies all kinds of terrible things." I make up. I surprise myself with how convincing I sound. The girl looks me over and then nods. 

"Follow me, we'll get you a card." she says and walks ahead. Other girls turn to look at me and Kara as we walk behind the girl at the door.

"We all get fake names, helps protect us if we get caught. Hope you don't mind Elektra." Kara says as we enter a smaller room. "That's Destroyer, by the way." 'Destroyer' does some things and gathers up other things and soon I have a card that has my fake name and the anti-music symbol on it.

"This will allow you access to every facility except the main office. Only the leader can give you a card that allows access to her office. Other than that, you're not limited." Destroyer says as she hands me my card. I nod once, my face stone and blank. _Looks like I'll need to get personal with the boss so I can get a card to her room._ I think as I slip the card into my inner jacket pocket. "I'm sure Chemical here wouldn't mind showing you around." she says and turns away. As we turn to leave, we're stopped by Destroyer's voice. "Oh Elektra, by the way: Welcome to the Army."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Here's the link to the outfit set for Naomi http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=128622410


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